ACS appoints Juan Santamaria as Hochtief’s new CEO to replace Fernandez Verdes

MADRID, 19 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The board of directors of Hochtief, the German construction company of ACS, has approved the appointment of Juan Santamaría as the company's new CEO, replacing Marcelino Fernández Verdes, as reported by the company.

With this new appointment, it is the third position in the last two years that Santamaría has assumed, taking over from Fernández Verdes, after accepting the presidency of Cimic, a subsidiary of ACS in Australia, in 2020 and the position of CEO of the group last Month of May.

Hochtief emphasizes in his statement the age of 44 years of Juan Santamaría, who has already become the 'right hand' of the president, Florentino Pérez, at the same time that he highlights that Fernández Verdes (67 years old) has led the company since the year 2012.

"The change in the leadership of Hochtief is part of a planned succession process in the company. Juan Santamaría has many years of experience in the international industry in various business segments," argues the company's president, Pedro López Jiménez.

This succession plan also coincides with the process of simplification of the corporate structure of the group launched by Florentino Pérez, of which one of its axes has already been completed: the exclusion of Cimic from listing.

This movement could be carried out in the first half of this year through a Public Acquisition Offer (OPA) of 1,000 million euros launched precisely by Hochtief, in which its Italian partner, Atlantia (of the Benetton family), It has 15.9% of the capital.

In 2022, the alliance between ACS and Atlantia, which translates into the control that both share in the motorway concessionaire Abertis, has experienced certain tensions after proposing international funds, which ACS joined, the purchase of Abertis from Atlantia.

Along these lines, ACS has recently appointed two company 'heavyweights' to the Abertis board of directors. This is José Luis del Valle, executive secretary of the ACS board since 1997 and deputy of the Congress of Deputies from 1979 to 1982 -coinciding with the stage in which Florentino Pérez held different political positions in the Public Administration-, and of Ángel García Altozano, also a senior official of the construction company since 1997.

This new appointment of Santamaría in Hochtief takes place in this context. At the last shareholders' meeting, Florentino Pérez assured that the incorporation of Santamaría to the top management of the group "will help to face the current strategic challenges of the company and will be of great value for the company as a whole". Fernández Verdes will continue to be linked to the group as a director of Abertis.